General faces axing over BNI probe
Eva C. Komandjaja, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
National Police operations chief Brig. Gen. Samuel Ismoko will face a disciplinary hearing and possible dismissal if found to have violated the police's code of ethics during the BNI investigation.
Ismoko, the former head of the National Police's fraud squad who led the investigation into the Rp 1.7 trillion scam at Bank Negara Indonesia, is also facing criminal charges for allegedly accepting bribes from Adrian Herling Waworuntu, one of the key suspects in the scandal.
Deputy chief of detectives Insp. Gen. Dadang Garnida said on Wednesday investigators had found evidence Ismoko abused his position and rank to provide special privileges to Adrian during the investigation.
Although Dadang declined to say exactly what Ismoko was accused of, he said his team had found enough evidence to bring Ismoko to a disciplinary hearing.
"Right now we are waiting for the supervisor in charge (chief of detectives Comr. Gen. Suyitno Landung) to decide when the hearing will take place," Dadang said.
Adrian slipped out of the country earlier this year after allegedly paying bribes to Ismoko.
He surrendered to police in October and his trial is now underway at the South Jakarta District Court.
Another key suspect in the case, Maria Pauline Lumowa, is still at large.
If Ismoko is found guilty at the hearing, he could face dismissal from the force for indiscipline and violating the police's code of ethics.
"We will start to investigate the criminal charges against Ismoko next week," Dadang said.
Ismoko was cleared internally of bribery charges two months ago after the internal affairs division failed to present evidence to support the allegations.
"Criminal acts have to be tried publicly even if they are committed by a police officer," Dadang said.
He said it would take several weeks to investigate the criminal charges because officers had to prepare detailed reports on the charges.
The head of the National Police's internal affairs division, Insp. Gen. Suprijadi, who is also a member of the team investigating Ismoko, said he strongly suspected Ismoko was involved in bribery.